New Delhi: A Delhi court on Monday, granted 10 days of interim bail to Sharjeel Imam, who is an accused in the 2020 Delhi riots case, to attend his brother’s wedding. Additional sessions judge Sameer Bajpai granted the relief from March 20-30. He has to furnish a personal bond of Rs 50,000 with two sureties and comply with certain conditions.
The relief has come months after Supreme Court in Jan refused to grant bail to Imam and co-accused Umar Khalid in the Delhi riots conspiracy case. Imam, in jail since Jan 2020, was booked in several cases related to protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC). He has secured bail in other matters, but remains incarcerated in the Delhi riots conspiracy case, in which police invoked the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). He sought interim relief for six weeks to attend the wedding that is later this month. Ceremonies spanning about a week will be held in Bihar and Lucknow. “He was in continuous incarceration for more than five years and five months,” the defence said. Pointing to Imam as the “sole sibling of the groom”, the defence said that there was no one in the family to take care of the wedding arrangements. It also added that Imam’s younger brother was the “primary caregiver of their ailing mother”, and that the accused wished to spend some time with her. The prosecution countered the plea, arguing that the accused was not required to perform any “indispensable ritual in the wedding”. It added that the wedding arrangements — including banquet booking, hotel reservations and travel plans — were already done, indicating that the ceremonies were adequately managed without Imam’s presence. Also opposing the defence’s claim regarding his mother’s condition, the prosecution submitted that she was already undergoing treatment at a hospital in Vasant Kunj and that there was “no emergent or life-threatening medical condition” warranting interim release. The prosecution also pointed out that Imam’s regular bail application was dismissed by the trial court on May 28, 2024, and the appeal against the order was rejected by Delhi High Court on Sept 2, 2025. The Supreme Court, on Jan 5 also declined bail and imposed a restriction barring the accused from filing a fresh bail application for a year. Calling the request for 6 weeks’ interim bail “excessive and disproportionate”, the prosecution argued that the allegations against Imam were serious and that, if released, he may tamper with evidence or influence witnesses. After hearing both sides, the court granted the 10-day relief. It said that Imam shall meet only family members, relatives and friends, shall not contact any witness connected with the case, and shall not use social media or interact with the media during the bail period.
